Looking the Part: Costumes at the Gaming Table

Tabletop gamers and LARPs have plenty of overlap in players, though I’ve found those who straddle the line prefer one type of gaming over the other. One of the elements of LARPing that rarely makes its way to the table is costuming. I’ve known player that have special dice for certain games, or some kind of fetish that gets them into character easier — one of our current players has dogtags from Quantum Mechanix for his Galactica pilot, (They’re lovely, by the way…) and a cowboy hat he wears for his Texan in the pulp campaign. Others have worn a Psi Corps badge in a Babylon 5 game, or brought Star Trek props to the table for a game. Hell, one of the players even dressed in BDSM gear for her character.

It’s fun. It helps the players fit in. But it can also make other players who haven’t quite made the leap from a social game of pretend at the table, to that more immersive style of play that LARPers and dress-up types bring with them. (Especially when you’ve got a girl wearing nothing-there leather bits…)

Personally, I could couldn’t care less. If the players are having fun, they can bring whatever prop or costume they want, so long as it’s not sharp or loaded, but it’s a good idea before people get too out there to make sure everyone’s comfortable with level of costuming being done.